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Switzerland is missing its climate targets. Katrin Schneeberger from the Federal Office for the Environment takes a position.
Six years ago, there was a big hit globally: the Paris climate agreement came into force. Global warming should be limited to two degrees. The target was later corrected to 1.5 degrees due to new scientific findings.
Switzerland also ratified the agreement almost a year later and committed itself, among other things, to halving its emissions by 2030.
Achieving this goal will be difficult given the current situation. The director of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) does not want to put it that way, but: It has a lot to do with the electorate.
SRF: Where does Switzerland stand in relation to the climate goals?
Katrin Schneeberger: By 2020, Switzerland had reduced its emissions by 19 percent compared to 1990. She just missed her target of 20 percent.
Only industry has achieved its goal. Conversely, the transport sector, which is the largest emitter, and the building sector have reduced too little. Too many oil and gas heating systems are still being used.
What went wrong politically?
I don’t know if you can say that something went wrong. Parliament passed the indirect counter-proposal to the glacier initiative. The SVP has called the referendum. And the Federal Council passed a new CO₂ law very quickly after the population rejected the total revision. These two templates are now on the table.
What happens if the templates fail again?
If the two proposals fail, politicians would have to look for new solutions and draw up appropriate proposals. The pressure to act is great.
Switzerland also wants to reduce its emissions through climate agreements. How many such agreements are already in place and what is planned?
To enable Switzerland to achieve its climate goals, it also supports projects abroad. To date, Switzerland has adopted eight such agreements. Three further projects are in the pipeline and can soon be signed by the Federal Council.
What are the consequences for Switzerland if it misses the climate target of halving?
There are no direct consequences for Switzerland if it is unable to fulfill the commitment it made under the Paris Agreement. But we have just had a hot summer, we have experienced flooding. I think we would do well to take the appropriate measures now.
Last week the United Nations published a report according to which all the measures formulated so far by the world community are already far from sufficient. Wouldn’t Switzerland have to improve that?
It is correct that according to the climate targets that have been submitted, we are heading towards a global warming of 2.8 degrees. It is therefore important that we do not lose sight of the goal of 1.5 degrees of global warming.
At the World Climate Conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Switzerland will work to ensure that all countries make their contribution, including the largest greenhouse gas emitters such as Brazil, China and India. And Switzerland continues to work to ensure that poor countries or island states, which could be up to their necks in water in the future, receive appropriate financial support.
The conversation was conducted by Manuela Siegert.